I test luxury beauty products for a living — here’s what I’m buying for Cyber Monday

This is my favorite mascara of the year at the lowest price I’ve ever seen! It both thickens sparse lashes and removes easily, which means there’s less risk of delicate hair loss.

More than 77,000 reviewers rave about Lash Sensational on Amazon, all stating something along the lines of, “10/10 would recommend, I’ve ordered this six times now … it’s the best mascara I’ve ever used.” Truly, it’s that good. And right now you can scoop it up for just $7 — the lowest price of the year.

Even if you don’t think of yourself as a “lipstick person,” the ultra-popular, 90s-chic (Drew Barrymore fave!) Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey will change your mind. Its creamy, universally flattering formula is made from a blend of blue, red and yellow pigments, so it works for any and all skin tones. It’s particularly good for drier, more mature lips like mine, as it glides on like a balm and has none of the waxy feel of some lipsticks. The shade looks dark in the tube but, once on, works like a customized tint, lightly staining the lips a natural-looking berry hue that’s just a hint or two above bare. 

This lipstick has been around for decades, but after re-trying it this month, I can’t believe I went so long without adding it back into my makeup arsenal. I’ve been wearing it casually to lunches and meetings at my kid’s school. As the name suggests, Almost Lipstick makes you look pulled together but not too “done.” It’s my new favorite everyday lip color and a clear winner for fall. 

If I could only purchase one thickening hairspray for the rest of my days, it would be this truly fantastic product from beloved hair care line Living Proof. The lightweight, gorgeous-smelling spritz manages to thicken my fine strands without making my hair at all crunchy or weighed down. It’s one of the few hair care products I travel with — the dry formula also extends shampoo time by days. I’m stocking up today: this Black Friday price is the lowest I’ve seen. 

Want to boost collagen, even skin tone and make your undereye and eyelids tighter and brighter overall? This beauty-editor-favorite Solawave mask is a more affordable way to try red light therapy than pricey (and often awkward) LED face masks — and far less expensive than an eye lift. In just 10 minutes this easy-to-use device utilizes noninvasive LEDs to reduce signs of aging, dark pigment and inflammation.

If you want to try it for yourself, this 43% off price at Ulta is the best I’ve seen all year.

Incredible deal alert! These gilded, Jessica Alba-approved eye masks incorporate hyaluronic acid, amino acids and sea moss to hydrate the delicate under-eye area, reducing dark circles and puffy bags and blurring fine lines as they go — and right now, they’re 60% off!

They’re also paraben- and sulfate-free, vegan and gentle enough for most skin types. The luxe packaging makes them an excellent gift.

There are seriously few better face creams than this one from Sunday Riley which makes my skin look absolutely glowing and dewy even after a night of I-should-know-better debauchery. This is one of my (and Drew Barrymore’s) favorite skin-care lines and its stellar vitamin-C-infused moisturizer is currently a whopping 40% off.

I am not an empress, a socialite, a CEO or the “real housewife” of a wealthy man. Therefore, I despise buying products I’m not sure I’ll like unless they cost less than a sandwich. However, I was willing to make an exception for this rich, hydrating, dark-circle-eradicating eye cream because I’ve only heard amazing things about it and because I have the shadowed under-eyes of a mourning Italian widow. I also know enough about the best eye creams and how vitamin C works to ascertain that this one — formulated with 5% encapsulated L-ascorbic acid and moisture-infusing hyaluronic acid — could actually soothe my orbital woes.

But lo! My conflict has been resolved by the bargain gods! BeautyStat’s brightening potion is on sale for more than half off, which means it’s in my cart as I type.

“Feels like velvet,” raved one five-star reviewer. “This eye cream is such a game-changer. The bottles last me about six months so it’s great for the money. And I can see a definite change in my crow’s feet since using it for nine months.”

Sunday Riley’s Good Genes is one of the most effective beauty products I’ve ever tried, and this six-month supply will last you. Honestly, I like this skin rejuvenating serum so much, if I had to pick one desert-island beauty product (outside of sunscreen), it would be this. The lactic-acid treatment gently yet effectively exfoliates dull surface skin, promoting cell turnover and giving even the dullest, dreariest complexion a healthy, vibrant glow.

It also smooths and plumps rough texture and clarifies an uneven tone. My skin never looks better than when I use this every night and, while this sale price still isn’t cheap, a little goes a long way.

I’ve been retesting eye creams to update our best eye creams list and, I have to say, I’m newly impressed with this version from Peter Thomas Roth. After three weeks of regular use, I found it minimized the fine lines under my eyes and had an immediate impact on my under-eye puffiness. 

No skin-care product will ever perform miracles, of course, but this eye cream helps smooth surface texture (the dreaded crepeyness!) on upper lids while improving the appearance of bags underneath. And at this moderate price (not a total bargain, but still not luxury), it’s an all-around win.

The TikTok girlies may think they’re the first to discover Bum Bum cream, but as with slip dresses, brown lipstick and crushes on wan men in tattered wool, us older ladies were there first. Bum Bum cream was one of the first products I fell in love with after moving to Los Angeles almost a decade ago, when my skin was super dry. I retested it recently for a story on the best body moisturizers, and I’m happy to report that it still lives up to the hype.

This intoxicating lotion is whipped, which makes it feel like pillowy heaven on your skin. The scent is a light coconut vanilla that somehow smells like an expensive tropical vacation and not the dollar store sunscreen aisle. It’s pricey, sure, but also a wildly indulgent treat for your skin. Best of all, it lasts: A little of this stuff goes a long way. 

I’ve tried literally DOZENS of products to reduce the appearance of my enlarged pores and to help deal with my nose blackheads and this is by far the most effective. It’s pricey, sure, but you only need a drop or two each night to see results.  

Stubborn blackheads weirdly don’t discriminate — they’re often prevalent no matter if you’re old or young. But these truly revolutionary patches help solve the problem fast, all while you sleep. Just apply, shuffle off to bed and let it do the hard work of clearing your pores while you sleep. In the morning, you’ll be astonished when you see all the grime that was trapped inside.

“Amazing” and “miraculous” are common themes among five-star reviewers.

One happy reviewer said, “I was amazed! It was slightly annoying to have on at night, but when I woke up, all of those problem blackheads on my nose were either gone or loosened up. … The patch is easy to remove and doesn’t hurt at all, like some of the other nose strips. I’m so impressed!”

Another reviewer called it “Seriously an unexpected miracle. … Pore strips have always pulled a few [blackheads] out, but mostly just left a white film behind. I applied this clear plastic patch and went to sleep. [In the morning] I could see that about 75% of my blackheads/sebum were gone.”

A quick Nutrafol review: I did not want to like this product. It’s waaayy too expensive. And I don’t like swallowing four horse pills every morning. BUT — and this is a big “but” — when taken consistently, Nutrafol really works for thinning hair, it helped stop my shedding and, after four months, I even saw new hair growth.

Right now is a good time to try it for yourself: a one month supply is currently 20% off. 

If I didn’t already own Omnilux’s Light Therapy Mask, I’d be picking it up now. Within days of first using this product, my skin looked tighter, particularly around my cheekbones. Within six weeks, the wrinkles on my forehead appeared less deep and so did those around my mouth. My complexion was clearer overall. The results of this mask, when used consistently, were subtle but apparent — my pores were smaller, my face looked softer and my skin had a bit of a glow. My conclusion: With consistent use, the Omnilux mask works, which is why I named it best LED face mask of the year.